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Patent 2956946 Summary

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Claims and Abstract availability

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(12) Patent Application: (11) CA 2956946
(54) English Title: FOOT SPA WITH ILLUMINATION
(54) French Title: BAIN DE PIED ECLAIRE
Status: Dead
Bibliographic Data
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC):
  • A61H 35/00 (2006.01)
  • A47K 3/022 (2006.01)
  • F21V 3/00 (2015.01)
  • F21V 23/00 (2015.01)
  • F21V 33/00 (2006.01)
(72) Inventors :
  • TRAN, MIHN S. (Canada)
  • ALEXANDER, CHRIS (Canada)
(73) Owners :
  • TRAN, MIHN S. (Canada)
  • ALEXANDER, CHRIS (Canada)
(71) Applicants :
  • TRAN, MIHN S. (Canada)
  • ALEXANDER, CHRIS (Canada)
(74) Agent: RIDOUT & MAYBEE LLP
(74) Associate agent:
(45) Issued:
(22) Filed Date: 2017-02-03
(41) Open to Public Inspection: 2018-02-09
Availability of licence: N/A
(25) Language of filing: English

Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT): No

(30) Application Priority Data:
Application No. Country/Territory Date
62/372,361 United States of America 2016-08-09
62/393,845 United States of America 2016-09-13

Abstracts

English Abstract



An improved mount is of the type used in a foot spa. The foot spa is of the
type
having a surface which defines a vessel for containing water and a pump
magnetically
driven by rotating magnets. The mount defines part of the surface and holds
the pump
against rotation. The improvement comprises: a coil associated with the mount
and
disposed exteriorly of the surface of the basin and interiorly of the magnetic
field produced
by the rotating magnets to produce a current; a plurality of lights
operatively connected to
the coil; and light conductivity associated with the mount to permit the light
to be visible
interiorly of the basin.


Claims

Note: Claims are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.



CLAIMS

1. An improved mount of the type used in a foot spa, the foot spa being of
the type
having a surface defining a vessel for containing water, a pump magnetically
driven by
rotating magnets and held against rotation by the mount which also defines
part of the
surface, the improvement comprising:
a coil associated with the mount and disposed exteriorly of the surface of the
basin
and interiorly of the magnetic field produced by the rotating magnets to
produce a current;
a plurality of lights operatively connected to the coil; and
light conductivity associated with the mount to permit the light to be visible
interiorly
of the basin.
2. The improved mount according to claim 1, wherein the mount is one of
translucent
and transparent to provide said light conductivity.
3. The improved mount according to claim 1, wherein the mount includes a
receiver
and the coil is releasably received by the receiver.
4. The improved mount according to claim 1, wherein the coil is formed
integrally with
the mount.
5. The improved mount according to claim 1, wherein the mount defines a
channel and
further comprising a circuit board releasably received by the channel and
operatively
coupling the coil to the lights.
6. The improved mount according to claim 5, wherein the cover portion has
receivers
which engage plugs on the circuit board, and the circuit board has receivers
which can
engage plug ends of removable cords.

7


7. The improved mount according to claim 1, wherein
each of the lights is associated with one of a plurality of modules, each
module
including a pair of plugs and a clip, one of the modules including a circuit
board; and
in use, the clip of each module is secured to one of the posts and the modules
are
plugged together.

8

Description

Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.


CA 02956946 2017-02-03
FOOT SPA WITH ILLUMINATION
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to the field of foot spas.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Illuminated foot spas are known. A common method for illuminating a foot spa
is to use
LED lights powered by an AC-DC converter connected to line voltage.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Forming one aspect of the invention is an improved mount of the type used in a
foot spa,
the foot spa being of the type having a surface defining a vessel for
containing water, a
pump magnetically driven by rotating magnets and held against rotation by the
mount which
also defines part of the surface. The improvement comprises: a coil associated
with the
mount and disposed exteriorly of the surface of the basin and interiorly of
the magnetic field
produced by the rotating magnets to produce a current; a plurality of lights
operatively
connected to the coil; and light conductivity associated with the mount to
permit the light to
be visible interiorly of the basin.
According to another aspect, the mount can be one of translucent and
transparent to
provide said light conductivity.
According to another aspect, the mount can include a receiver and the coil can
be
releasably received by the receiver.
According to another aspect, the coil can be formed integrally with the mount,
According to another aspect, the mount can define a channel and can further
comprise a
circuit board releasably received by the channel and operatively coupling the
coil to the
lights.
1

CA 02956946 2017-02-03
According to another aspect, the cover portion can have receivers which engage
plugs on
the circuit board, and the circuit board can have receivers which can engage
plug ends of
removable cords.
According to another aspect, each of the lights can be associated with one of
a plurality of
modules, each module including a pair of plugs and a clip, one of the modules
including a
circuit board; and in use, the clip of each module can be secured to one of
the posts and
the modules can be plugged together.
Advantages, features and characteristics of the invention will become apparent
upon review
of the following detailed description and the appended drawings, the latter
being briefly
described hereinafter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a basin constructed according to an
exemplary
embodiment of the invention, in use;
FIG. 2 is a view of the structure of FIG. 1 with the water and plug
removed;
FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the structure of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the structure of FIG. 2;
FIG. 7 is a rear view of the structure of FIG. 5;
FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the structure of FIG. 7;
2

CA 02956946 2017-02-03
FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 8;
FIG. 10 is a rear view of the structure of FIG. 9;
FIG. 11A is a view of a variation of the structure of FIG. 7;
FIG. 11B is an exploded view of the structure of FIG. 11;
FIG. 12 is a plan view of encircled area 12 of FIG. 11B;
FIG. 12A is an exploded view of the structure of FIG. 12;
FIG. 13A is an enlarged view of the structure of encircled area 13A of
FIG. 11B;
FIG. 13B is a rear view of the structure of FIG. 13A;
FIG. 14A is an enlarged view of the structure of encircled area 14A of
FIG. 12A;
FIG. 14B is a plan view of the structure of FIG. 14A;
FIG. 140 is a side view of the structure of FIG. 14A;
FIG. 15 is a view along section 15-15 of FIG. 12;
FIG. 16 is an enlarged view of encircled area 16 of FIG. 15;
FIG. 17 is a view of another variation of the structure of FIG. 7;
FIG. 18 is an exploded view of the structure of FIG. 17;
FIG. 19 is an enlarged view of a portion of the structure of FIG. 17;
FIG. 20 is a view of the opposite side of the structure of FIG. 19;
and
3

CA 02956946 2017-02-03
FIG. 21 is a partially disassembled view of an embodiment including
the structure of
FIG. 17.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
An exemplary embodiment of the invention 20 is shown in FIGS. 1-10 and will be
seen in
FIG. 3 to include: a basin 22; a motor 24; a pump 26; a drive head 28; a mount
30; a light
part 32; and a charge part 34.
The basin 22 has an aperture 36.
With reference to FIG. 6, the motor 24 will be seen to have a shaft 38 and,
with reference to
FIG. 2 and FIG. 6, the pump 26 will be seen to include a housing 40 and a
rotor 42. The
housing 40 defines: a cavity 44; a pair of outlet ports 46 communicating with
the cavity 44;
an intake 48 communicating with the cavity 44; and a pin portion 50. The
rotor 42 is
mounted in the cavity 44 and includes a body part 52 and an impeller part 54.
The drive head 28 comprises a plurality of magnets 56.
')0
With reference to FIG. 8, the mount 30 will be understood to be constructed of
translucent
plastic and includes a socket portion 58, a receiver portion 60 and a cover
portion 62. The
receiver portion 60 includes a plurality of receivers 64, a plurality of posts
67 and a platform
68.
?5
The light part 32 includes a circuit board 68, a plurality of lights 70 and a
receptacle 72.
The charge part 34 includes a plurality of coils 74. Each coil 74 terminates
in a plug 76.
In use.
= the cover portion 62 is mounted to the basin 22 to seal the aperture 36;
4

CA 02956946 2017-02-03
= the basin 22 is filled with water;
= the motor 24 is mounted exteriorly of the basin 22;
= the drive head 28 is mounted to the shaft 38;
= the rotor body part 52 is magnetically attracted to the magnets 56;
= the pin portion 50 of the housing 40 is restrained against rotation by
the socket portion
58 of the mount 30;
= the circuit board 68 is fitted to the platform 68;
= the coils 74 are fitted in the receivers 64;
= one of the plugs 76 is fitted in the receptacle 72;
= rotation of the motor 24 causes rotation of the magnets 56;
= rotation of the magnets 56 causes rotation of the rotor body part 52 by
induced
magnetic fields;
= rotation of the rotor body part 52 causes rotation of the impeller part
54 and a voltage
differential to be produced in the coils 74;
= rotation of the impeller part 54 causes water, that enters the cavity 44
through the intake
48, to be forced through the outlet ports 46;
= the coil 74 coupled to the circuit board 68 produces power for the lights
70
= the basin 22 is illuminated by the lights 70
The remaining plugs 76 can be coupled to other devices (not shown).
It will be evident that variations of the above are possible.
For example, a variation of the structure shown in FIG. 7 is shown in FIG. 11.
This structure functions is a manner similar to that hereinbefore described,
but differs in that
the coils are flat coils 74A formed interiorly of a disc 80 which, as
indicated by the sequence
of FIGS. 14,13, snap-fits into the cover portion by means of protuberances 82A
formed on
the periphery of the disc which engage hollows 82B in the cover. The coils
terminate in
plugs 84A which project from the disc and which, in this variation, engage
receptacles 84B
5

CA 02956946 2017-02-03
formed on a modified light part 32A to provide, in use, for an electrical
connection between
the coils 74A and the light part 32A; the light part 32A in this variant
includes receivers 86A
which can engage plug ends 86B of removable cords 88. Only three receivers 86A
are
shown; it will be understood that one of the flat coils in the disc, when
connected, is coupled
to the circuit board 68 to produce power for the lights 70; each of the other
flat coils is
coupled to respective one of the receivers 86A.
An advantage of this structure is that, in contrast to the tubular coils of
FIGS. 1-10, wherein
a load is borne by the motor whenever the coils are present, irrespective of
load, in this
structure, the motor only bears a load associated with a coil when the coil is
coupled to a
load.
Yet another variant is shown in FIGS. 17-21. In this variant, the annular
circuit board of
FIG. 9-10 is replaced with a plurality of modules 94, each including a
plurality of lights 96, a
pair of plugs 98 and a clip 100, one of the modules 94A including a circuit
board. In use,
the clip 100 of each module is secured to one of the posts 67 and the modules
are plugged
together. This variants functions in a manner similar to the structure of
FIGS. 1-16, but
has the advantage in that, if the circuit board fails, the defective module(s)
can be replaced
without removal of the cover portion from the basin, as indicated by FIG. 21.
Other variations are possible.
For example, whereas in FIG. 11, the flat coils appear identical, coils can be
varied; finer
windings result in more wire length, higher voltages and reduced current
whereas coarser
windings result in higher current and lower voltage.
Yet further variants are possible. Accordingly, the invention should be
understood to be
limited only by the accompanying claims, purposively construed.
6

Representative Drawing
A single figure which represents the drawing illustrating the invention.
Administrative Status

For a clearer understanding of the status of the application/patent presented on this page, the site Disclaimer , as well as the definitions for Patent , Administrative Status , Maintenance Fee  and Payment History  should be consulted.

Administrative Status

Title Date
Forecasted Issue Date Unavailable
(22) Filed 2017-02-03
(41) Open to Public Inspection 2018-02-09
Dead Application 2021-08-31

Abandonment History

Abandonment Date Reason Reinstatement Date
2020-08-31 FAILURE TO PAY APPLICATION MAINTENANCE FEE

Payment History

Fee Type Anniversary Year Due Date Amount Paid Paid Date
Application Fee $400.00 2017-02-03
Maintenance Fee - Application - New Act 2 2019-02-04 $100.00 2019-02-04
Owners on Record

Note: Records showing the ownership history in alphabetical order.

Current Owners on Record
TRAN, MIHN S.
ALEXANDER, CHRIS
Past Owners on Record
None
Past Owners that do not appear in the "Owners on Record" listing will appear in other documentation within the application.
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Document
Description 
Date
(yyyy-mm-dd) 
Number of pages   Size of Image (KB) 
Abstract 2017-02-03 1 15
Description 2017-02-03 6 178
Claims 2017-02-03 2 37
Drawings 2017-02-03 21 1,020
Representative Drawing 2018-01-09 1 14
Cover Page 2018-01-09 2 47
New Application 2017-02-03 8 183